Ground transport means for transporting a ladle filled with molten metal on the ground, such as a car truck, a roller conveyor, and a forklift, have been known (refer to Patent Literatures 1 to 3, for example). This kind of ground transport means has an advantage of having higher safety as compared with aerial transport means, such as a crane, and thus a molten metal transport line, in which some of the ground transport means described above are combined, has also been known.
In many cases, a method as follows has been used: a pouring port is provided in a ladle for transporting molten metal; the ladle is mounted on a pouring apparatus; and the pouring apparatus is driven to directly pour the molten metal into a mold from the pouring port of the ladle. As a pouring apparatus in such a method of pouring molten metal, a forklift (refer to Patent Literature 1) or a pouring car truck (refer to Patent Literatures 2 and 3) is typically used.
In a molten metal transport line using this kind of method of directly pouring molten metal into a mold from a pouring port of a ladle, a direction of the ladle in a transport path of the ladle, or a direction of the pouring port of the ladle in a circumferential direction in a horizontal plane, is important. That is, when the molten metal is poured into the mold from the pouring port of the ladle, the pouring port of the ladle needs to project toward a position at which the mold is arranged. In addition, the molten metal transport line is required to be designed in consideration of achieving a predetermined positional relationship between a position of the pouring port of the ladle and a melting or holding furnace, and a position of each of various treatment apparatuses to prevent the pouring port of the ladle from interfering with the melting or holding furnace, and with the various treatment apparatuses when the ladle receives molten metal from the melting or holding furnace, or when graphite spheroidizing treatment, inoculation treatment, or slag removing treatment is performed in the middle of the transport path.
Conventional molten metal transport lines each use a method of adjusting a direction of a ladle as follows. That is, Patent Literature 1 uses a method of tilting a ladle with a pouring port attached to a forklift that can freely travel in a plant by using power of the forklift to pour molten metal. The forklift can freely travel in the plant in this method, and thus, for example, the ladle can be transported while the pouring port of the ladle is placed toward a position at which a mold is arranged. In Patent Literature 2, a ladle monorail for distributing molten metal, a platform, and a roller conveyor, are arranged at intermediate positions between a melting furnace and a pouring car truck, and a ladle is transported to the pouring car truck while a direction of a ladle is set to a predetermined direction.
Unfortunately, there is the following problem in a molten metal transport line that adjusts a direction of a ladle by using a conventional method. That is, while a forklift needs no rail to enable transport in a free path, a driver needs to be secured. Thus, the forklift is unsuitable for automatization and labor savings, and there is also a problem from a viewpoint of safety because the driver works near the ladle filled with molten metal. In addition, a molten metal transport line, in which a ladle monorail for distributing molten metal, a roller conveyor, and the like, are arranged in a transport path to adjust a direction of a ladle, has the following problems: a large space is required for the monorail and the roller conveyor; and transport of the ladle by using the monorail is unsuitable for automatization, labor savings and space-saving.